Vehicle unloading platform for large cylindrical bodies



April 7, 1953 w. GIBSON 2,534,005

VEHICLE UNLOADING PLATFORM FOR LARGE CYLINDRICAL. BODIES Filed March 28,1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Apr. 7, 1,953

VEHICLE UNLOADING PLATFORM FQR, LARGE;v CYLINDRICAL BODIES WilliamGibson; London, England, assignor tov Daily: Mirror Newspapera Limited,London,

England;

Application March 28, 1949, Sjeri'al No. 8358,42 In Great BritainMarchlnliiflv S-Claims. 1.

Thisv invention relatesto platforms andthe like, adapted forfacilitating the unloading of lorries, againstwhich lorries-mayybe-backed for-the purpose of unloading therefrom reels of newsprint orother cylindrical bodies of considerable weight.

Reels' of newsprint are transported tov the printingwcrks on lorries,andA in order that aplurality of tier-s of such`4 reels mayv be carriedsafely, they must be stacked so that the reelsforming oneftier are instaggered relationv with the reels forming the immediately adjacenttiers, or in other words, for instance, the reels ofv a second or uppertier is engaged in. the hollows provided bythe-iirst or next lower-tier,thefaxis of the reels being* transverse to the length of the lorry.

Where a third tier is carried, the reels of' this tier lie in theAhollows provided. by the second tier.

`lReels-stacked in this manner are verydifcult to unload as until thefirst three or four reels are vclear therev is no room on the lorry tovallow, after the removal of checks` provided to locate thereels of a,lower tier, further reels to be levered out until they drop and thenroll oif.

They position is generally.y similar with other bodies of material, forinstance cylindrical con:` tainers of considerable weight.

According to the invention, theV platform isprovided adjacentits forwardextremity against which the tail ofthe lorry toabe unloaded willbeadjacent, with a section at least equal'to thewidth,

or length ofthe reels or the like hingedly mounted vand furnished withmea-ns whereby it may be raised or lowered within certain limits tobring its forward edge upA to the height of thetail of the lorry; andbehind this portion there is provided a rotatably mounted spindle frombosses on which extend a plurality of arms spaced apart at4 equi-angulardistances so that in the rotation of the spindlein the unloadingoperation the ends of these arms preferably provided with rollers willbe brought into position to engage against successive reels.

v Preferably-there are provided at least two sets of such arms,onelocked towards one end ofthe spindle and the other towards the other endthereof, so that the successive reels may each be engaged at two pointsin its length.

The spindle may be associated with braking mechanismand means whereby itmaybe rotated or its rotation permitted to bring the arms in successioninto position against the successive reels delivered from the lorry. Y

The spindle provided with arms may be arranged above'- the platform; invwhich case the 2 ends of the arms will contact withhthe upper-surfacesof; the reels, orl itl may be arranged below the platform, in whichcaseA slots will be provided thereinI to permit the arms to extend abovethe general surface of the platform seas to contact withV the lowersurfaces of the=reels.

Preferably, thereis provided in the path ofthe reelsastheyf pass themechanism l above described, a switch or equivalent meansto. arrest therotation as each successivereel passes;

Further'inthe rear offthe mechanism described there ispreferablyprovided a` hinged: platform: in association. with resilientmeans permittingy this platform totake up anyl shock and toensure thatthe reel comesv to rest and with this platform there is preferablyassociated meansadapted to permit the mechanism furnished with arms torotate until afollowing. reel operates the iirstmentioned switch orequivalent means.

Where the spindle provided with. arms iswanranged below the platform,so'. that thrustfrom the reelsdeliyered from, the lorry shallnot-tendto, push the reel overthe arms means maybe provided for holding the;reels down on` toA the platform; and such means maybe;- guides4 whichform; a fra-merrore` located an. anprrvpriate dise-` tance aboveltheplatform.

Conveniently, in accordancey with thei invention the roadv or bay intowhich the lorry is backed is inclined downward in a direction towardsthev rear of thelorry at an inclinationfwit-h the horizontal, while thehinged forwardl portion of theplatform and the portion ofthe platformextending through the mechanismv furnished with arms-to provide supportfor the reels is-also somewhat inclined to the horizontal so as to,enable the reels to move forward under the action of-gravity.

With the arrangement so far described; diieculty may arise due to thereelsnotdescending and being delivered in theiry appropriate order whichshould be as follows, assuming that the lorry is loaded wththree tiersofreelsas is usuali The lowermost ofthe first column of reels may beregardedas number t, the one above it number f2 and thevone above thatnumber 3 the lowermost of the4 next group-ofreels located one above the`othermay bev regarded as numbers 45zandf6, and' the next column ofreels?, 8 and S, the remaining reels being numbered inan up.-ward'direction, Iii, ll and I2.

On removal of the rst ofi the checks which are provided for` maintainingthe reels` in the`V appropriate position, therst reel off the bottomtienl will4` move towards-the bank; oir` to the reels as they descend donot crash upon the Y tail portion of the lorry.

A feature of the invention is the provision of such a loop, thearrangement and construction of which will be described in greaterdetail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate byway of example one construction in accordance with the invention, andinclude diagrammatic views of the operation of the loop member.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a view in side elevation of an arrangement in accordancewith the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view thereof with an element forming a cover plateremoved;

Figures 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views illustrating theoperation of the arrangement i1- lustrated in Figures l and 2, in theunloading of reels of newsprint from a lorry, while Figure 8 is asimilar diagrammatic view showing the result which normally occurs whenan element of the invention is not in use.

Referring to Figures l and 2, it will be seen that the platform orunloading bank a is provided adjacent to its forward extremity againstwhich the tail of the lorry b to be unloaded will be adjacent, with asection c at least equal to the width or length of the reels or the likehingedly mounted and furnished with jacking means d whereby it may beraised or lowered l within certain limits to bring its forward edge upto the height of the tail of the lorry and behind this portion there isprovided a rotatably mounted spindle e from bosses f on which extend apluralityof arms g spaced apart at equiangular distances so that in therotation of the spindle in the unloading operation the ends of thesearms provided with rollers h will be brought into position to engageagainst successive reels.

As shown, there are provided two sets of such arms, one located towardsone end of the spindle and the other towards the other end thereof, sothat the successive reels may each be engaged at two points in itslength,

With the spindle is associated braking mechanism and means y whereby itmay be rotated or its rotation permitted to bring the arms in successioninto position against the successive reels delivered from the lorry.

In the path of the reels as they pass the mechanism above described, aswitch arm Ic is provided to actuate a switch operative in controllingthe braking mechanism to arrest the rotation of these arms as eachsuccessive reel passes.

Further, in the rear of the mechanism described there is provided ahinged platform Z in association with resilient means m permitting thisplatform to take up any shock and to ensure that the reel comes to restand with this platform there is associated arms n adapted to actuate aswitch to permit the mechanism furnished with arms to rotate until afollowing reel opu crates the first-mentioned switch.

With the spindle provided with arms arranged below the platform so thatthrust from the reels delivered from the lorry shall not tend to pushthe reel over the arms, there is provided for holding the reels down onto the platform a framework supporting a cover plate o located anappropriate distance above the platform.

As shown, the road or bay p into which the lorry is backed is inclineddownward in a direction towards the rear of the lorry at an inclinationwith the horizontal while the hinged forward portion of the platform andthe portion of the platform extending through the mechanism furnishedwith arms to provide support for the reels is also somewhat inclined tothe horizontal so as to enable the reels to move forward under theaction of gravity.

Assuming that the lorry is loaded with three tiers of reels as is usual,the lowest of this group of reels may be regarded as number I, the oneabove it number 2 and the one above that number 3, the lowermost of thenext group of reels located one above the other may be regarded asnumbers il, 5 and 6, and the next column of reels 7, 8 and 9, theremaining reels being numbered in an upward direction I0, ll and I2.

With such an arrangement it will be found that, when the first reel,that is, reel l, is moved beyond a certain distance away from theassembly of reels on the lorry and the reel number 2, there will be atendency for the reel 2 to fall heavily, and allow the reel 3simultaneously to descend into the depression between reels 2 and l! andso on, as shown in Figure 8.

In order to prevent this result a rope should be passed into the gapbetween the topmost reel 3 and the reel 2.

So that this device may be automatic, a framework consisting of twochannel rails q extending longitudinally is located above the positionin to which a lorry will be backed against the hinged platform c, therails inclining downwards towards the third tier on the lorry platformat the same downward incline as the roadway T upon which the lorry willstand.

Upon these two channel rails is supported a trolley s to which issecured a rope t the ends of which are connected to opposite ends of thetrolley and pass over a free pulley u and a pulley v on a shaft w indriving connection through gearing at, with a constant torque device ywhich allows the trolley to move slowly up the incline under apredetermined constant torque.

Fastened to extension brackets z below the trolley there are twoflexible ropes a', a' which will normally hang vertically when no lorryis being unloaded and which are kept at a distance apart suii'icient toallow ample clearance over the length of a reel.

yThese ropes will thus be free to pass downwards on either side of thereels on the lorry.

At the lower end of these ropes, two other ropes b', b' each somewhatlonger than the length of a reel is fastened at each end to a rotatablesocket c', c' free to rotate in links d', d which are used to keep thelrotatable ropes separated by a distance approximately equal to onetenthof the circumference of a reel.

=Prior to the commencement of unloading, the first of these tworotatable ropes will be within the gaps between reels 2 and 3.

During unloading the twin rotating rope assembly will pass successivelythrough gaps between 2 and 3, then 3 and 5, then 5 and S, 6 and 8 and soon; being kept continually in tension against the surface of the reel bythe overhead `endless constant torque rope and trolley.

After the unloading of a lorry` is completed the directiony of rotationof the torque motor is reversed, 'so `that the trolley may return to itslower position ready for the commencement of another unloadingoperation.

In commencing to unload the lorry it will be foundkconvwnient to leavetwo or three reels A and B in' position on the platform, the reels beingmovedip to a position in which the foremost of them'is brought againstthe iirst and lowermost reel upon the lorry, an operation which may beeffected by ,applying power on the spindle e and causing it to rotate inthe reverse sense from that in which it normally moves in the unloadingoperation.

After ,the` foremost of the reels supported on the platform have beenbrought up against the lowermost reel on the tail of the lorry, thechock against which this reel bears will be removed (the chucks'A beingconveniently furnished with handles) so thaty the reel may then, whenthe spindle and tliefarins associated with them are allowed to rotateian-,fa counterclockwise direction, roll towards the platform.

The second reel from the lorry will follow and then the third, fourth,fifth and thereafter successive reels,'the remaining chocks beingremoved as the operation of unloading progresses.

The order in which the reels are unloaded is more clearly followed fromFigures 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, Figure 8 illustrating the disordered descentof delivery of the reels which would occur Without employing theretarding means which forms part 1 drical bodies, said platform definingan inclined rollway having its forward higher end disposed at anelevation to receive cylindrical bodies rolled from the tail end of alorry and a retarding device located rearwardly of the forward end ofthe rollway and comprising a plurality of movable, spaced-apart armsadapted to successively engage the cylindrical bodies traveling down therollway, braking means for restraining the movement of said arms, and areverse drive for said arms.

2. A vehicle unloading platform for large cylindrical bodies, saidplatform dening an inclined rollway and including an unloading banklocated at the forward higher end of the rollway, means for adjustingthe height of said bank to the level of the tailA end of a lorry toreceive cylindrical bodies rolledjfrom the lorry, and a retarding devicelocatedfrearwardly of the unloading bank, said'retarding devicecomprising a plurality of rotatable, angularly-spaced arms adapted tosuccessively engage the cylindrical bodies traveling down the rollway,braking means for restraining rotation of said arms, and a reverse drivefor said arms.

3. A vehicle and unloading platform as set forth in claim 2 in which theretarding device comprises two laterally spaced sets of rotatableradially-mounted arms each arranged to simultaneously engage acylindrical body upon the circumference and adjacent opposite ends ofthe cylindrical body.

4. A vehicle unloading platform as set forth in claim 3 in which theaxis of rotation of the arms is located below and crosswise of therollway, whereby the arms are adapted to engage the lower circumferenceof the cylindrical body.

5. A vehicle unloading platform as set forth in claim 1 including anoverhead frame extending along the rollway in spaced relation to thearms for preventing jumping of the cylindrical bodies over the arms.

6. A vehicle unloading platform for large cylindrical bodies, saidplatform dening an nclined rollway having its forward higher enddisposed at an elevation to receive cylindrical bodies rolled from thetail end of a lorry and a retarding device located rearward of theforward end of the rollway and comprising a plurality of movablespaced-apart arms adapted to successively engage the cylindrical bodiestraveling down the rollway, braking means for restraining movement ofsaid arms and control means interposed in the path of travel of thecylindrical bodies along the rollway for momentarily releasing saidbraking means, an inclined ramp in line with but in advance of therollway for accommodating a lorry withl its chassis sloping downwardfrom its head end toward its tail end and a loop suspended from a pointabove the` ramp for extending into the gaps between the cylindricalbodies for insuring the orderly vertical descent of such bodies duringunloading of the lorry.

7. A vehicle unloading platform as set forth in claim 6 including altrackway above the ramp adapted to overlie and extend lengthwise of alorry, a trolley adapted to travel along said trackway, means fordriving said trolley at uniform speed along the trackway and suspensionmeans for connectingthe loop with the trolley.

8. A vehicle unloading platform as set forth in claim 1 in which theretarding device is drivable in opposite directions.

WILLIAM GIBSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name n Date 1,112,543 Love Oct. 6, 1914'1,849,385 Sekulski Mar. 15, 1932 1,892,670 Jaeger Jan. 3, 19332,206,766 Cushnie July 2, 1940

